The Enlightenment was crucial in determining almost every aspect of colonial America, most notably in terms of politics, government, and religion. Without the central ideas and figures of the Enlightenment, the United States would have been drastically different since these concepts shaped the country in its formative years. Both during and after the American Revolution<span> many of the core ideas of the Enlightenment were the basis for monumental tracts such as the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Concepts such as freedom from oppression, natural rights, and new ways of thinking about governmental structure came straight from Enlightenment philosophers such as </span>Locke<span> and forged the foundations for both colonial and modern America. All aspects of life, even religion, were affected by the Enlightenment and many key figures from American history such as Thomas Jefferson were greatly influenced by the movement.</span>
The second continental congress was mostly about the war and achieving independence. The greatest achievement was the declaration of independence that was made and other things include petitions like the Olive Branch petitions or ways of financing and organizing the wars. It became some sort of a first government of the colonies.
Traversing as they do all of Eurasia, the Silk Roads encompassed almost every climate and vegetation zone and crossed every kind of terrain. This sketch of Silk Road geography has the modest aim of introducing a few of the important features of Eurasian physical geography which help us to understand patterns of human habitation and interaction across that vast expanse. There are always regional variations which deserve more detailed treatment. Before the advent of modern technology, geography and ecological zones were critical determinants of where and how people lived, moved and interacted. Boundaries such as we know them, delineated by modern states, did not exist, but boundaries there were, either natural or manmade, and in both cases they turn out to have been quite permeable.
Also in July 1863, Union forces under Ulysses S. Grant took Vicksburg (Mississippi) in the Siege of Vicksburg, a victory that would prove to be the turning point of the war in the western theater.Oct 15, 2009
In the eastern part of the confederacy, the Army of the Protomac met with mixed success. The Union Army failed to capture Richmond and won at Antietam only because the Confederates withdrew from the field first.
